Year full of moves brings Zebby Matthews to the big leagues

Matthews is latest youth injection into Twins pitching staff.

Pitcher Zebby Matthews warms up during a Fort Myers Mighty Mussels practice at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers, Fla., on Tuesday, April 4, 2023. / Jonah Hinebaugh/Naples Daily News / USA TODAY NETWORK

There have been a few changes of scenery for Zebby Matthews this year. 

Matthews started the year in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, with the High-A Kernels. He wasn’t there long before moving to Wichita, Kan., after being promoted to the Double-A Wind Surge. Matthews had just enough time to settle in there before a promotion to the Triple-A Saints took him to St. Paul, Minn.

“Getting the call up to St. Paul, moving into the cities. First time really ever living in a city, so for me it’s a big change from where I grew up, but it’s been fun,” Matthews said. 

Matthews will have another change of scenery on Tuesday, but thankfully he won’t have to go too far — just across the Mississippi River. Matthews will be called up to the major leagues to start for the Twins on Tuesday in the second game of their series against the Kansas City Royals at Target Field.

Matthews will be making his major league debut for the Twins following Joe Ryan's addition to the injured list. With Ryan out potentially long-term, Matthews could see more opportunities with the big league club this season following his rapid rise through the team's farm system.

Matthews has a 2.60 earned-run average and 114 strikeouts across 97 innings combined in his stints in High-A, Double-A and Triple-A this season. Matthews said the mix of pitches he throws and the confidence that’s brought has helped his development throughout the season. The jump from Double-A to Triple-A has helped him learn how to execute pitches better facing experienced hitters.

 In four starts with the Triple-A Saints, Matthews has a 1-2 record and a 5.68 ERA across 19 innings. He’s allowed 24 hits and fanned 23 batters. 

“Just learning how to pitch a little better, honestly, and then working with (Twins pitching coach) Pete (Maki) and (Saints pitching coach) Dan (Urbina) there was a big help for four weeks, so can’t speak enough about what they did,” Matthews said. 

Whether Matthews sticks around for the long haul for the remainder of the season will to be determined, but the Twins will be forced to rely on youth in the starting rotation one way or another. They already feature a pair of rookies in the rotation in David Festa and Simeon Woods Richardson.

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli also floated the possibility of using more than five pitchers to stretch out the rotation. Either way, the Twins will be relying on their youth on the mound for the foreseeable future, but that isn't something that causes Baldelli or the Twins any concern going forward.

“We’re not shy in any way to throw young pitchers out there and young players out there, we actually kind of thrive on it,” Baldelli said. “And it’s not something that I have concerns about one bit. We talk about the players, strengths, weaknesses, we try to get them ready to go and we send them out there to perform.”